Week Seven: Stories from the Congo

This week, when looking through the stories, the title of this one really stood out to me. I have always been interested in the Congo region and the stories of that area. This week, I am reading Stories from the Congo unit.

How the Wives Restored Their Husband to Life
This is the story of Nenpetro, who had three wives. He continually brought them food, yet they were still hungry. Nenpetro went to kill a ox for them to eat but was accidentally killed by it. The wives went to find him and each had a dream about him. One dreamt that he was dead, another showed the road where he lay dead, and the last dreamt she brought him back to life. This then happened in reality and the third wife was prized, as she brought him back to life.

How Gazelle Got Married
The story begins with Nenpetro and his two wives. They had two daughters named Lunga and Lenga. Both daughters grew in beauty and the antelope came to Nenpetro asking for their hand in marriage, but the antelope was denied as only the many who could guess their names was to be married. A dog heard the names of the daughters and told Nsassi. Nsassi gained the marriage of the daughters and killed the antelope to eat him.

The Vanishing Wife 
This is the story of two brothers, Swarmi and Buite. Swarmi was married and Buite was alone and sad, so he left their home. One night he dreamed of a beautiful girl and followed her. In the morning, he followed the path of his dream an found a beautiful house. Every day, Buite was to cut the heads off of the fish for his wife else she would disappear. One day, Buite forgot to cut the heads off of the fish and everything disappeared. Swarmi appeared and Buite wept.

Another Vanishing Wife 
The story begins with two sons, Mavungu and Luemba. The latter grew to be a handsome man but the other was not and their mother mistreated Mavungu. Mavungu ran away and fled into the forest. While there, he pulled a leaf which then turned into a beautiful woman, who became his wife. Mavungu turned into a beautiful man and a large house appeared. Mavungu began to tell his mother the tale but remembered he was not supposed to tell. He visited again and told them of the story. Everything he owned disappeared and the townspeople said he was foolish.

The Jealous Wife
This is the story of two wives who each had children and whose husband was leaving for six months to trade. When it was time for the husband to return, they went to fish for their dinner and would take turns staying with the children. The child of the younger wife was much more intelligent and the older wife tried to murder him out of jealousy. She had killed her own child by mistake and ran into the jungle. The husband returned and asked where the elder wife was. They found her in the woods still cradling her dead child and fed her casca to kill her. Her ashes were scattered to the wind.

Ngomba's Balloon 
Ngomba was suffering form sores from head to foot and her friends told her to go away. She was determined to stay and catch fish for her mother and sang a song while catching fish. A murderer was watching her and made her go with him, lest he would kill her. The murderer took her to his home and healed her sores and made her mistress of all his prisoners and goods. One night, the murderer tried to kill his wife but heard music and danced, forgetting to kill her. Ngomba was determined to escape and finally made it back to her mother.

The Wicked Husband
The story begins with a quarrel between a husband and a wife while cutting palm-nuts. The wife does not do as the husband says and he dragged her into the woods and cut her arms and legs off and left her there. A hunter found the woman in terrible shape and told his wife about it. The prince heard of what happened but the woman had just died. They tied up the husband and killed him in a fire.

How Kengi Lost Her Child
Kengi was one of Nenpetro's two wives. One day, the second wife took beans from Kengi's land and this made her angry. Kengi needed tobacco from Gunga's land and while sitting there, had a child. Because it was on her land, Gunga took possession of the child. The court decided that Gunga had rights to the child, as it was born on her land.

The Twin Brothers
The twin brothers were both born with magical powers and wished to travel the world. One brother heard of a young girl who was looking for a husband and was determined to marry her. His magical powers helped him in his journey to find the girl. The girl chose him and they were to be married. While in the city, Mavungu found mirrors and discovered he could see into them, he went to the terrible city, knowing his charm would protect him. An old woman killed him on his travels. His twin was determined to find him. He found his wife and was mistaken for his brother and didn't know what to do. This time, Luemba killed the old woman, rather than being killed by her and put her bones with his brother's bones. Mavungu and the horse came back to life. A quarrel broke out and Mavungu killed Luemba.

The Younger Brother Who Knew More Than the Elder 
This is the story of two brothers, whom the younger thought he knew more than the elder. The younger brother was enraged and left the town with his wife. While on their journey, they came across several huts. After befriending a man, they dug a hole and caught many animals. The brother sent his wife to get wood and she didn't return. He found her in the trap and his elder brother found them in the forest. The elder brother called the younger a fool, as he was to take his wife. The younger brother saw how foolish he was and the two brothers and wife returned to their home.

The Antelope and the Leopard
This is the story of a leopard and an antelope who had a bet that the antelope could not find the leopard. However, he did find the leopard and the leopard was angry. So, the antelope hid himself and the leopard gave up. He went to his home and returned to his four princesses. There was a maiden that showed herself and turned into the antelope as the leopard was dying. This is why the leopard now kills the antelope.

How the Spider Won and Lost Nzambi's Daughter
Nzambi had a beautiful daughter who wore that she would not marry a mortal. The spider agreed to help her with the feat for a reward. Nzambi told many animals what they needed to do and Nzambi gave the spider her daughter for marriage. The animals all thought they should have the girl and Nzambi instead gave them cloth and sent them away.

The Turtle and the Man
In this story, a turtle and a man build themselves a small town. They made a trap so as to catch a large animal to curb their hunger. The turtle caught an antelope but the man did not. An ox came to help them ready the food and the turtle tricked him into leaving. The ox then stormed away, yet fell into the trap and died. The leopard destroyed the trap, rather than being outsmarted by the turtle. He put rope around his heck and laid in the trap. The leopard then bit the turtle's head off.

The Gazelle and the Leopard
This story is of a gazelle and a leopard who were to be cutting down bush so that their women could plant seeds as soon as the rains came. The gazelle went and cut the bush twice alone without the leopard. Then the next day, the gazelle was sick so the leopard when alone. the continued for several days and the leopard set a trap. He caught an antelope who said he was with the gazelle and the gazelle was annoyed when the antelope was slain. The gazelle then set up an army against the leopard and killed him.

The Fetish Sunga
Basa was a wise fisherman who used to smuggle fish into his home. This went on for many years and one day he heard a voice telling him to go into the river. It dried up and all the fish disappeared as soon as he touched it. The voice, Sunga, took him to a town and gave him so much wine he could not speak. Then Sunga deprived him all powers of speech so that he would lie nor more and he could only communicate by sign from that point on.

The Rabbit and the Antelope
There was once a shortage of water, so the rabbit and antelope paired so as to dig a deep well to quench the thirst of everyone. The rabbit left many times, causing the antelope to do all the work. The antelope asked for the leftover food, as he was tired and there was none left. The next day, the same thing happened. The antelope became angry and planned to kill the rabbit. The rabbit stuck to the figure he was trying to kill so the antelope killed him in laughter.

The Fight Between the Two Fetishes
King Jack owned a fetish called Lifuma. Lifuma has rejoiced by the sea but now was retired to the interior and wished to see his people happy again. Lifuma got into an argument with Chimpukela and broke his leg. Lifuma cursed the bird, the tree, the canoes, the saltwater and everything else pertaining to the beach and that is why they no longer belong to that country.

The Fetish of Chilunga
In Chilunga, there is a fetish called Boio. One day a woman was in the forest gathering wood and was tied up by Boio, who took form in the bird. The husband got the woman gave her liberty. There were many other instances like this one through which Boio was mentioned and many went to the place of Boio to praise this fetish. Only two men have ever seen this fetish in his earthly home and they are who brings him food.

The Leopard and the Crocodile
This story begins with a man and his wives who refused to work and the man didn't know how to feed all of those people and himself. He cut down palm-kernels and sought out the leopard to help him. The leopard promised meat and the crocodile promised fish. This continued for many years as the man brought palm-kernels to the animals. The two animals then fought bitterly and the beasts killed each other, causing the town to feast on their meat.

Why the Crocodile Does Not Eat the Hen
This is the story of a hen who would go to river's edge to pick up food. The crocodile came near her and was frightened by her scream, yet was determined to eat the hen. Mbambi told the crocodile that all animals are related and are kin, so the crocodile does not eat the hen.

The Three Brothers
The story begins with three babies born at once to a single mother. She didn't know what to do with them and the river spirit called them to eat the food around them. The three brothers grew and built their homes in a town and soon met their father. He returned to town and told his wife he found their children. They then took are of their mother for the rest of her days.